Tried to focus in on the inner-offensive line today and by God are they atrocious run blockers. Each passing week has me more and more convinced that this beast will be our first rounder in the next draft...

Tried to focus in on the inner-offensive line today and by God are they atrocious run blockers. Each passing week has me more and more convinced that this beast will be our first rounder in the next draft...

Just try and get him and Brewster in this draft and the middle is solved.

Tried to focus in on the inner-offensive line today and by God are they atrocious run blockers. Each passing week has me more and more convinced that this beast will be our first rounder in the next draft...

I was thinking they would win enough games to get them out of the DeCastro sweepstakes but now i think he's going to be there and as you imply he will be a welcome addition.

Terrible news about Britt. You hate to see anyone hurt but stars make up the league and it hurt's the game when they go down. As a sidenote here Kenny needs to decide to focus 100% on football. The injury may have occured anyway but you need to be right mentally and physically to be a superstar, which he is certainly capable of.

I can't believe we lost Britt for the year. I'm genuinely bummed out right now.

Our best FA options look like Donnie Avery, Chris Chambers, and Terrell Owens. And to think we could have signed Braylon Edwards, Malcom Floyd, or Jerricho Cotchery in the offseason. I'd love to work the trade route and see the availability of guys like Eddie Royal, Eric Decker, Braylon Edwards, Brandon Gibson, Danario Alexander, Malcom Floyd, Jordy Nelson, Adrian Arrington, and ideally, a guy like Robert Meachem, who is in his last year so if the Saints are planning on letting him walk, they could get something for him (assuming Colston is close to coming back).

If Cook can take over the big, physical receiver role that Kenny handled, then I think we can get by. I think the FA front runner is Donnie Avery, but I think a bigger WR is what's needed, not another speed guy.

We could do worse I guess. Nate Washington, Jared Cook, and CJ out of the backfield should be Hass's top targets on Sundays. Damian Williams is the wildcard. Either he becomes a focal point of the offense either from the Slot or #2 WR, or he becomes a role player like Hawkins, Mariani, Stevens, and Gage/FA.

Either way, I'm confident in the playcalling and believe the staff can get the most out of this group. Palmer has made brilliant calls during crucial moments, such as the pass to the FB Quinn Johnson on 4th down against the Ravens and the play-action pass to TE Daniel Graham against the Broncos. Lets hope he can keep it going without our best offensive player (Oh yeah, I said it).

Still holding out faint hope for a trade though. I had the biggest mancrushes on Robert Meachem and Adrian Arrington coming out. I WANT 'EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Just try and get him and Brewster in this draft and the middle is solved.

I think getting Brewster would make the line better overall than DeCastro, but I think DeCastro is the better player. I think center is the 2nd most important OL position, and our OL dramatically improved when we signed Mawae and it has gotten significantly worse since he left. If we can get our version of Nick Mangold, Alex Mack, Maurkice Pouncey, etc. to hold down that spot for the next decade, with Roos and Stewart at the bookends and Locker behind him, I think that'll be more impactful.

Plus, in the short term, if we draft DeCastro, then we'll still have to draft/sign a center to start immediately, lest Amano stay a starter. If we draft Brewster, then Amano can go to LG, where he's not as much of a liability and Harris (assuming he's re-signed) can move to RG to take over for Scott, and we can draft an OG for Munch and Matthews to groom - but I'd still like to look to FA for one of the Guard spots if there's a good player available, and Harris is a FA too so there's no guarantee he'll be back. In fact, at this point I'd probably rather re-sign Scott to a 1-year deal than Harris.

But yeah, like you said, ideally we take DeCastro in the 1st, since he warrants that selection, and trade up into the end of the 1st RD for Brewster, which is probably his value. DeCastro just seems like a can't miss OG prospect, and I've seen comparisons from John Hannah to Steve Hutchinson for him. Opinions tend to vary for Brewster, and some even think Peter Konz from Wisconsin is better.

Nevertheless, I'm not sure if the FO will address OL early. I posted in the "CJ choking?" thread that the good news is that the Titans have the best pass-blocking OL in the league, and the bad news was that the Titans have the best pass-blocking OL in the league. By that, I meant that since the Titans are so good at pass-blocking and they're keeping Hasselbeck/Locker clean, the coaching staff may be willing to ignore the run-blocking woes. Because if the coaches had to choose between giving the QB more time to throw or giving the RB more holes to run through, they're gonna choose in favor of the QB since this is developing into a passing league. Maybe losing Britt will change their philosophy though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoughBoy

Louis Murphy probs?

Eh, I was never really a big fan of Murphy. I'd rather let Damian Williams get those receptions.

Still kinda worried about Avery's knee, but if he's good to go, then he has the upside to have a future here beyond this season. Hasselbeck will be by far and away the best QB he's had in his NFL career (Marc Bulger, Kyle Boller, Trent Green, Keith Null), and for a rookie/sophomore WR, he put up acceptable numbers considering the QB play. Never got to see his 3rd season, which is usually the year WR's really come into their own.

Avery said he's back to running in the 4.2's, so if that's true, adding another vertical threat will at least force opposing defenses to take him into account. He and Washington could be a great deep-threat tandem, even though Avery will probably start out as the 4th WR. But part of me thinks that if he really had his full ability back, then he wouldn't be on the open market...